32 Classic Golf Club COURSE BLUEPR INT Benjamin Warren of Artisan Golf Design will start a redesign of Classic Golf Club in Fukuoka, Japan, in January 2023. The Classic’s 27-hole layout – comprising the King, Queen and Prince nines – was laid out in 1990 by Shoichi Suzuki and Yuzo Tanimizu. The redesign begins with the King and Queen nines, an eighteenhole configuration that has hosted professional events, including the 2020 Japan Women’s Open. The project will see a move from the traditional Japanese layout of two greens per hole to single greens grassed with modern species that can offer yearround playability. “Redesigning from two greens on each hole will lead to a substantial reconfiguration of the Classic,” said Warren. “Including practice putting greens, the club is currently maintaining a total of 56 greens, every day, for its twenty-seven holes. Material and manpower costs are high. Reducing the maintained area of the greens will be a sustainability win. “But it is the opportunity to transform the playing experience which is most exciting. The redesign to one-green architecture will enable us to reroute golf holes and create new angles of play. A full rebunkering will add a new layer of strategy to the Classic. “Our new greens will take inspiration from some of our favourite golf courses in the US and the UK. DNA from North Berwick, National Golf Links of America, Crystal Downs, Sand Hills and the Old course at St Andrews will be evident in our work.” For the fifteenth green, Warren drew inspiration from the Road Hole at St Andrews The eighteenth tee moves across the lake to create a dramatic short par five and an eagle opportunity The par-four fourteenth presents a riskreward approach to a Cape-like green
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